updated 04:45 pm EDT, Fri June 13, 2008

EFiX PC-to-Mac USB dongle

A developer is promising an easy, hardware-assisted means of installing Mac OS X onto PCs, accounts say. The creators of the EFiX USB dongle claim that by attaching their device to a PC, users can then simply boot from a Mac OS X disc, and continue with installation as if the system were a native Apple product. Typically, the creation of "Hackintoshes" requires a number of complex steps, as Apple does not allow the Mac OS on third-party hardware.

The dongle is said to have been in development for some time, including at least six months of testing, and already in use in places such as TV stations and recording studios. A public release has been planned for June 23rd, and video of the dongle in use can be found here. No prices have been mentioned.

More Mac users can't hurt Apple. If people buy Leopard and install it on a PC, Apple is only slightly hurt in the short run and wins in the long run when these PCs run into Software Update troubles and decide "to h*** with this, I'm buying a real Mac".

I know many people probably think "hackintoshes" are a bad idea, but I think Apple needs competition. This is especially in the laptop arena where they still make no laptop I'm willing to purchase (I want a small laptop with reasonable 3D performance). If Apple knew it was trivial to purchase a competitor and have it work properly, maybe they would put a little more effort into developing their own products. But even if you don't have a specific gripe like mine, please think about the fact that fair competition in the marketplace is always a good thing. It pushes companies to make better products.

I'd like to try this because as a lucky Axiotron MODBOOK Owner (I think 1 in 100 they have shipped so far), I have to say I would like a better Mac OSX Tablet then the one they hacked together from a Macbook.

All Apple needs to do is put a line in the code to ignore the USB Port on loading a System OSX - There, that's the end of that.

Plus even if this was to work, which is somewhat interesting to some people, you will still have some hardware problems. Video Drivers for what you install this on, the ability to access the USB and FW ports if there are any to get to.

Does the dongle have to stay connected to get this work? and if not then you could just clone the dongle and install it on as many as you want to.

Can and did hurt Apple back when the OS was licensed: many folks had problems with the UMAX clones (in particular) -- did they blame UMAX? Nope. Apple. That the problems were related to the third party CD-ROM drivers or whatever didn't matter: when a Mac doesn't work, Apple is to blame.

Since OS X can't run on each and every PC out there, it makes complete sense for Apple to do all that it can to keep these efforts marginal and clearly unofficial.

the dongle probably just installs the EFI code to the internal hard drive. That code tells the Apple software that it's okay to proceed with the install and then boot. There's also a hack in there... at least one... that removes a well-known copy-protection file. But after the hard drive is activated and the patch made, the install will proceed as normal... the dongle doesn't need to stay attached. Other hardware drivers will probably have to be patched for a full working system, though.

As for graphics cards, most of them will, indeed work with Leopard with only small modifications and system extensions. Leopard is remarkably adaptive to a variety of hardware. Network cards seem to be more trouble than graphic cards. Sound is usually the other bugger.

This USB device could easily lead people into waters where they shouldn't swim. If you know enough to use a dongle like this, then you know enough to make your own. If you don't, then this dongle could give you a half-active system. Imagine Leopard without networking, sound and a maximum resolution of 1024x768 and you've got the idea.

Can and did hurt Apple back when the OS was licensed: many folks had problems with the UMAX clones (in particular) -- did they blame UMAX? Nope. Apple. That the problems were related to the third party CD-ROM drivers or whatever didn't matter: when a Mac doesn't work, Apple is to blame.

That didn't hurt apple in the sense of "OMG! My umax doesn't work! Bad press all around!" Most people probably never even new UMAX computers had issues.

What hurt Apple was the fact they were NOT getting more Mac users. They were losing hardware sales to the cloners, because they could actually make a computer faster and cheaper then what apple spit out (and it didn't help apple at all that they were deeply entrenched at the time in their "Beige Computer" days, and if Mac users aren't going to overpay on hardware if they can't drool over it).

But even with their new stylings and all, there's a lot of potential mac users who just don't want to spend Apple's prices for a computer, esp. since Apple has such a limited selection (again, we get to the "What??? I have to spend $2000 just to get a 15" laptop???" argument). But it would require Apple to spend time on supporting third-party hardware, and pushing vendors to make Mac drivers. And Apple can barely handle all this when it comes with printers. And Steve is just too stubborn to see his baby running on crappy looking hardware.

from what I've gathered, this has become the favored way of installing Mac OS X on a PC: do a minimum of hacking up front (usually formatting the drive as GUID and installing the EFI code) to allow a normal Leopard install disk to be used (instead of a hacked downloaded version). That leaves you with a system that usually works and can sometimes be updated using Apple updates, but not always. It's a bit of a c*** shoot... you'll have to spend some time with the terminal and command-line operations to install modified .kext files into system folders. You may have to do a little driver modification using a hex editor as well. Lots of experimentation and problem-solving.

If that sounds like fun or a good hobby, then you might be a candidate for a Hackintosh and this dongle could prove useful (you can make your own pretty simply, but your PC has to support booting from USB). Again, this dongle will allow you to install a standard Leopard system, but it won't do any of the problem-solving for you, and you'll probably be left with a semi-functional system (i.e., no Time Machine, no DVD viewing, etc... the results vary greatly depending on your hardware).

Of course, they may have something else on the dongle to ease the driver issues. In that case, it may need to be kept in place and could easily be rendered inoperable with system updates.

from what I've gathered, this has become the favored way of installing Mac OS X on a PC: do a minimum of hacking up front (usually formatting the drive as GUID and installing the EFI code) to allow a normal Leopard install disk to be used (instead of a hacked downloaded version). That leaves you with a system that usually works and can sometimes be updated using Apple updates, but not always. It's a bit of a c*** shoot... you'll have to spend some time with the terminal and command-line operations to install modified .kext files into system folders. You may have to do a little driver modification using a hex editor as well. Lots of experimentation and problem-solving.

If that sounds like fun or a good hobby, then you might be a candidate for a Hackintosh and this dongle could prove useful (you can make your own pretty simply, but your PC has to support booting from USB). Again, this dongle will allow you to install a standard Leopard system, but it won't do any of the problem-solving for you, and you'll probably be left with a semi-functional system (i.e., no Time Machine, no DVD viewing, etc... the results vary greatly depending on your hardware).

Of course, they may have something else on the dongle to ease the driver issues. In that case, it may need to be kept in place and could easily be rendered inoperable with system updates.

You could not make it up. Quote - "already in use in places such as TV stations and recording studios". We, strictly speaking, are not allowed to copy our purchased CDs to our iPods or skip adverts on time-shift recordings. What are the RIAA and MPAA doing about this outrage?

"That didn't hurt apple in the sense of "OMG! My umax doesn't work! Bad press all around!" Most people probably never even new UMAX computers had issues."

I'll bet you meant "knew" not "new" but never mind: you are dead wrong on this, I worked with a number of clients who had bought into the cheaper UMAX / PowerComputing / Performa deal and their bad experiences with those were always cited as a reason to move from Apple systems to PC compatibles.

The clone makers did increase Mac OS adoption briefly: but the long term impact was a significant penalty for Apple (hence the reason to curb the program and get back to unified hardware and software that worked).

This does not spur competition. There is already competition. People have the choice to buy a PC, use Linux, or buy a Mac. Apple's market is small enough, that it can't afford to have competitors selling Macs.

Moreover, if you buy Leopard and install it on a PC, you are stealing from Apple. All Leopard sales are priced on the premise that they are upgrades, not initial purchases. If Apple knew Leopard was going to be installed on PCs, it would have tiered pricing for upgrades and initial installs like Microsoft does with Windows.

If Apple were a hardware company they would have shelved Mac OS entirely, moved to Intel and focused on making cheap WinTel systems with a pathced GUI that ran every app in the world (there isn't a single Mac app that does not have a Linux or Windows counter part these days), and focused the iLife suite into a $350 add on for anyone running Windows.

Apple is both a hardware and software vendor.

iPhone firmware and iPod Touch firms are/will not be free updates.

Apple is going to keep making end gadgets, but computers are at best going to be made for another 5 years before outsourced to someone else. Mark my words. When Apple becomes a real record label, they will stop making computers.

Apple wants to own the intellectual property, not the device to which you view/read/listen to said property on.